Book Review - The Practice: Shipping Creative Work
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The Practice: Shipping Creative Work by Seth Godin is a book for all creatives. It’s for teachers designing an original lesson to spark curiousity in their students, for chefs who want to make taste buds sing, for dancers, and comedians, and for writers and illustrators.
Recently, I had the pleasure of enjoying a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony by the Billings Symphony Orchestra. It was a moving experience as the standing ovation can attest to. I was grateful that over two hundred years after the great composer’s death, I could still enjoy his masterpiece.
The author Seth Godin defines art as something generous you create that will make a difference for others. I don’t think anyone would argue that what Beethoven created is art.
Beethoven shipped the work.
“Ship the work.” That’s the bottom line of what Godin is trying to say in this book. No matter what creative endeavor you’re working on, if you want to be a professional, you must ship the work. In other words, get it out into the world.
Stop listening to the narrative (either placed on yourself or placed on you by others) that you’re not qualified –– “credentialed” as he calls it. Trust in yourself and be willing to fail.
Beethoven didn’t listen to his critics, literally, and he didn’t delve into feelings of imposter syndrome even when he could no longer hear the work he was creating. He trusted that he had something to offer the world, something that would make it a better place. He stuck with the practice of creating – no excuses. He shipped the work.
The author tells us:
“When we require outcomes as proof of our worth, we become brittle, unable to persist in the face of inevitable failure on our way to making a contribution.”
You can’t be worried about outcomes (such as sales or reviews), or you’ll never produce. Every creative project has flaws especially in the beginning. If you’re too worried about a perfect outcome, you’ll never finish the work and share it with others.
And sharing it with others is the ultimate goal. Why do the work (at least in a professional sense) unless you want to share it with others? You’re looking to create some positive change and to serve your people. People who want what you have to offer. Give it to them. Stop coming up with excuses and ship the work.
Fear of criticism commonly keeps artists from committing to or completing a project. If this is you (and isn’t it everyone), try to change your mindset about criticism. If it’s “generous criticism,” you can view it as helpful feedback about what is or is not working for your audience. If it’s not constructive, or even harmful, that just means, those critics aren’t your people and what you have to offer isn’t for them. Don’t let them get to you.
Most importantly, don’t fall into the trap of trying to appeal to everyone just to avoid criticism. This just makes you generic. You need to be outstanding in your little corner of the world. You don’t need to appeal to everyone; just to those whom you’re looking to serve. Beethoven isn’t for everyone. Neither is the work you create.
Figure out who your audience is. And figure out how to serve them. How can you add value to their lives? What are you trying to contribute that will make their world a better place?
And commit to the practice of making and shipping your art. Choose to commit to the journey.
I feel like the following quote is the entire point of Godin’s book.
“We have unlimited resources to hide our work and only one reason to share it: to be of service.”
For some reason, we’re very good at finding reasons for not getting the work finished and out into the world. The author addresses many of these excuses one by one to show us what is actually behind our inaction.
This book has a whole section called, “There’s no Such thing as Writer’s Block.” That’s a bold claim that will get under people’s skin. Godin asserts that while writer’s block feels very real, it’s imagined and therefore changeable. He explains that the search for certainty and the fear of making a mistake is at the heart of our block.
The author lists 45 ways we sacrifice our work to our fear. I will only list five here.
· Refuse to listen to generous critics.
· Eagerly listen to well-meaning chickenhearted critics.
· Compromise on the hard parts.
· Work only when inspiration strikes.
· Polish your excuses.
Do any of these sound familiar?
If we’re to get our work out in the world for the benefit of others, we must stop hiding behind fear and excuses. We need to trust the results will come if we just continue the process and keep our focus where it needs to be; not on the outcomes (sales), but on the practice of making art.
“Committing to a practice that makes our best better is all we can do.”
Be like Beethoven. Be deaf to the critics, including your inner ones. And ship the work.
Godin lists several elements of the practice we should develop to help us be consistent in our work. Again, I’ll only list five.
· Dance with fear
· Seek joy
· Understand genre
· Avoid reassurance
· Learn from what you ship
The author explains each element in detail. He also makes many more points that are worth reading and pondering. I can’t cover them all here. Instead, I’ll end with another of Godin’s quotes.
“Better is possible. But not if we continue to settle, continue to hide, and continue to scurry along the same paths. We have more to do.”
Seth Godin is a best-selling author, inspirational speaker, and marketing guru. You can learn more about him and his 20 books at sethgodin.com.
